Congo cholera outbreak reaches capital Brazzaville
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Congo cholera outbreak reaches capital Brazzaville*
04 Feb 2007 17:06:47 GMT
Source: Reuters
BRAZZAVILLE, Feb 4 (Reuters) - An outbreak of cholera in the Republic of
Congo has reached the capital Brazzaville, killing four people there and
pushing the death toll this year to 82, a senior medical official said
on Sunday.
Cases of the water-borne disease were first recorded in early January in
the coastal oil-exporting city of Pointe Noire, 515 km (320 miles) from
the inland capital.
"Today we are at 82 dead and 2,700 recorded cases, in Pointe-Noire and
the surrounding area ... but Brazzaville is also affected, with four
dead out of nine recorded cases there," Damase Bozongo, director-general
of the country's health department, told Reuters.
The intestinal infection causes diarrhoea and can be transmitted by food
or water contaminated with faeces. Its spread to Brazzaville in spite of
the authorities' efforts to control it has caused concern in the central
African country.
Last week Health Minister Nestor Alphonse Gando appealed to people "not
to panic, to follow basic hygiene guidelines and to seek free treatment
in medical centres opened for the sick."